Presidential Debate Commission Adopts New Rule of Muting Mics for Trump, Biden

The upcoming presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will feature a new rule: muting microphones.

According to The Hill, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) adopted the muting rule for both Trump and Biden to get uninterrupted time for each presidential debate segment.

The CDP said the changes were needed for the presidential debate after the first debate between Trump and Biden on September 29, Reuters reported.

With the new muting rule, both candidates are granted two minutes of talking time.

"The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules," the commission said.

For segments that are intended for open discussion, microphones will be open for both candidates.

In a statement by the CPD, they said muting microphones provide "additional structure" to the debate. It will also ensure a "more orderly discussion of the issues," reported Business Insider.

The new rule comes just three days before the scheduled final presidential debate.

CPD said both candidates have also reaffirmed that they agree to the rule granting two minutes of uninterrupted talking.

In the new presidential debate, there will be six 15-minute segments. Both Trump and Biden will speak at the start of each segment, uninterrupted.

It will be moderated by NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker.

Voters to Benefit from Muting Rule

After the first debate between Trump and Biden, the commission recognized that many were unsatisfied with the outcome.

They noted that the first debate fell short of expectations. It deprived voters of the opportunity to know more about the candidates' positions on various issues, the CPD said.

The commission hopes with each candidate given two-minute periods under the rules, they'll better serve the American people.

"We realize...that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today," CPD said in the statement. But they are still comfortable that the changes will be in the interest of Americans, for whom they are holding the debates for.

Associated Press said in a report that the Trump campaign was not very happy with the new rules. Despite this, they will participate in the debate.

 "President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden," said Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien. This is "regardless of last minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate."

Meanwhile, Biden's campaign did not provide immediate comment on the new rule.

Trump Campaign Demands Change to Final Debate Topics

While the Trump campaign was pushed to agree to the muting rule, they demanded a change in the final debate topics.

The Trump campaign is accusing the organizers of this week's debate of helping Biden for leaving out foreign policy as a topic, reported BBC.

They demanded that it be put in the list of topics for the presidential debate.

Stepien wrote a letter to the CPD, raising their objections on the list of topics announced by Welker last week. He also claimed that the campaigns have agreed to include foreign policy in the final debate, said another The Hill report.

The Biden campaign clapped back, saying there was a prior agreement that the moderator will select the topics.

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